St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-22
A BIG PACKING PLANT.
Two Hundred Representative Men In
spect the Stock Yards Plant
in South st. Paul.
Where Mammoth Buildings With all the
Apparatus Needed for Work Have
Suddenly Grown.
a Banquet in the Evening Where st.
Paul's Coming Industry is
Discussed at Length.
words of Wisdom in Favor of the
Great Project--Promise of
Great Things.

western road. considerable number of
gentlemen from st. Paul, together with a
gooo many members of both houses of the
legislature, went down to the stock yards
Yesterday afternoon in South st. Paul for
the purpose of looking over the buildings
that nave been completed. and also those
tnat are partly finished. No adequate idea
OF the extent of these stock yards
or the magnitude of the enterprise
can be obtained from any de-
scriptlon that can be given on paper and
When the farmers from the valley of the
hea river and other parts of the state went
!iisloe the elevator, storage building and the
immense structure where cattle are to be
1attened, they, like all the rest, lifted up
tileir hands i'll alnazement. One of the
most striking OF the structures is the eleva-
tor and storage buildings. This is a mon
ster structure and combines an elevator
corn crib and storage for hay and oats.
Some idea of it may be formed from a few
statements of fact. 1t will store
away at the same time so. 600
bushels of oats, SO cars of
corn and 500 tons OF hay All the hand
ling OF hay, corn and oats is done by ma
chlnery. so that two men can take a load
OF hay at the door and deposit it in any
story OF the building or in any part of any
story. All this work is accomplished with
endless chains. When load of baled hay
Is brought to the outside door, a man rolls
off bale and places it in an endless chain
laid in the floor. BY this endless chain
the bale is carried about thirty feet, where
1t dropped down into well. There it is
instantly caught up by an iron rest, or pro-
jection from
ANOTHER ENDLESS CHAIN
that works perpendicular, and in less time
imam IL takes to tell the story it is conveyed
10 the point desired, from forty to fifty or
even SeVenty-fve feet high, from the spot
where the hay was unloaded and all this
llme only two men are engaged in handling
1t. They pitch it around as easily and
about as rapidly as base ball can be
handled. In just the same way the
corn is handled. 1t is received at
the outside door and with the
same endless chain process, which ex-
tends in every direction and to all parts of
the extensive structure, it is Instantly re-
moved to any part of the building 1t is
then moved by the same chain to the place
where the machinery for Smelling it is To-
Gated and dumped into the reservoir and
shelled, the cobs being conveyed to the
furnace, where they are used for fuel, and
the shelled corn is conveyed by the endless
chain to the corn crib, fifty or sixty feet to
the north, but connected with the elevator.
BY very neat continuance the endless
chain deposits the sheled corn in every
part OF the crib. Everything used or
stored Ill the elevator and storage
building is handled with this endless chain.
1t is the same with the immense ice houses.
These two structures will store 40, 900 tons
IN fnn
houses for ice are built on the bank of the
river. From the building to the river is
erected frame work similar to toboggan
slide. starting down from above the top of
the ice house to the river. Four or five
horizontal Slides upon each of which is this
endless chain, are built from the main
slide to the building. The first
one is constructed near the ground.
The next one eight or ten feet
higher. and so on to the top of the building
The ice, as it is cut from the river, is taken
by the endless chain, pulled up to the low
est slide, and by the endless chain run in to
the building. When the lower part of the
building is filled up TO the first horizontal
slide the ice is taken up the incline to the
second horizontal slide and then run into
the building. In this way the process is
continued till the whole building is full.
This process shows how easily and quickly
the work is done, and how much manual
labor is dispensed with
THE PURPOSE OF INVITING
these business men and farmers down to
these grounds was to show to all that an
immense hog and beef Strengthening plant
has been established here in ST. Paul, and
that a market upon an enormous scale was
to be opened here for the beef and hog
products of Minnesota, close to head water
navigation OH the Mississippi. and with
an abundance of rail communication
with all parts of the whole
country. The two or three
hundred that went down tramped all about
through the snow from one building to an
other over a distance of fifteen or twenty
acres. They saw the artesian well that
throws through an iron pipe SLY inches IN
diameter full stream of pure water. This
well is sunk 300 feet and discharges about
three hundred gallons of water per minute
also the handsome foundations for the bank
and stock exchange building. This struc-
ture is now up to the second story
and is being built of Kettle river
sandstone. which is of a very handsome
color. This building will be four stories
in hight. Another stupendous thing they
saw, and that was the work of filling
up ten or fifteen feet deep. two hundred
acres of swamp land for the purpose of
making suitable foundation upon which
to erect other buildings. 1t is well known
that the ground down there is low and is
often overlooked by the river in the spring.
On the west Of the swamp are
big bluffs eighty OF one hundred
feet high. The railroad has secured
strip of these bluffs half mile wide
which will give ample materials for the fill
ing. Hundreds of men with portable rail-
road dump cars are now at work removing
part of the bluff down into the low lands.
The work of hlling up these 200 acres is all
immense undertaking. Fowler Bros. of
Chicago, who have pork and beef packing
houses in Chicago. England. Kansas City
and great MANY other cities. were present
and took the tramp around with the legs-
lators and manifested great interest in the
matter, especially as they are putting from
half q million to.
A MILLION OF DOLLARS
into the plant. They appeared very much
gratitied with the outlook. Mr. f. F.
Drake. a we'll known railroad man. and DIR.
Hewitt. of Red Wing, also patiently went
around through the snow ali the afternoon
examining the work that has been done.
and all were surprised, as any man will be
If he goes down there. 1t is monster
| plant as any one can see, even though the
work. comparatively speaking is but just
begun. The whole plant is started on such
a broad plan that no one can understand or
comprehend it without going down there
and witnessing what-has been done and
getting all idea of. what is to be done.
BANQUET.
The Enthusiasts for Stock Raising
Discuss the New Industry Around
the EeStaE Board.